Privacy Policy

Your privacy

At Nest Dental, we are committed to protecting your privacy, whether you're a patient, a visitor to our website, or someone who has been referred to us by a friend. Nest Dental is operated by The Trustee for Nest Dental St Leonards Trust. We use the information we collect about you to provide safe, high-quality dental care and to keep you informed about your appointments and oral health. We respect the privacy and confidentiality of the information you give us and handle it in line with the Australian Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Health Privacy Principles under the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW). Please read this policy carefully.

You can update your details at any time by contacting us by email, by phone, or at reception. Information submitted through our website is sent over a secure, encrypted connection, and we take reasonable steps to protect all patient and visitor information from unauthorised access, use or disclosure. We do not store full credit card details on our website. Payments are processed through secure third-party payment and claiming systems, including HICAPS.

The information we collect

We collect the information we need to provide your dental care and run our practice. This may include your name, date of birth, address, phone number and email address, health fund details, Medicare details where relevant, and emergency contact details. Because we are a health service, we also collect health information, including your medical history, medications, dental history, clinical notes, X-rays, photographs, scans and treatment plans.

We may also collect information when you book online, complete forms, contact us, give feedback, respond to a survey, take part in our referral program, or change your communication preferences. If a friend refers you to us, we will only record your details once you choose to submit them yourself through our referral page.

How we use your information

We use your information to provide and manage your dental care, communicate with you about appointments and treatment, process payments and health fund claims, meet our legal and professional obligations, and improve our services.

We may also send you appointment reminders, recall notices, oral health information and updates about our practice by email or SMS. You can opt out of marketing messages at any time by using the unsubscribe link in any email, replying STOP to an SMS, or contacting us directly, and we will action your request promptly. We will continue to send messages that are necessary for your care, such as appointment confirmations.

Your personal and health information is not used for any purpose other than those described in this policy, unless you consent or the law permits or requires it.

Who we share your information with

We will use all reasonable means to protect the confidentiality of your information while it is in our possession or control. We only share your information where it is needed for your care or to run our practice, for example with:

• other health practitioners involved in your care, such as specialists or your GP, with your consent;
• dental laboratories that make crowns, aligners and other appliances for your treatment;
• your health fund, to process claims;
• trusted service providers who support our practice, such as our practice management, booking, communication and IT systems.

Where we use service providers, we require them to protect your information in line with this policy. Some of these providers may store or process information outside Australia. Where this happens, we take reasonable steps to make sure your information is handled in a way consistent with Australian privacy law. Please contact us if you would like details.

Your feedback

If you send us feedback, suggestions or comments, we may use them to improve our services and the patient experience. We will not publish anything that identifies you without your permission.

Cookies

A cookie is a small file placed in your web browser that collects information about your browsing behaviour. Cookies allow a website to remember your preferences and work more effectively. Cookies do not access information stored on your computer or give us personal details such as your name, address, email address or phone number. Most web browsers accept cookies automatically, but you can choose to reject them in your browser settings, although some parts of our website may not work as well.

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to analyse traffic and improve your experience. We may also use advertising services, including Google Ads and Meta (Facebook and Instagram), to show relevant Nest Dental ads to people who have visited our website. We do not share your health information with advertising platforms.

Disclosure of your information

We may need to disclose your information, including health information, to comply with a legal requirement, such as a law, regulation, court order, subpoena or warrant, in the course of legal proceedings, or in response to a request from a law enforcement or regulatory body. We may also use or disclose information where it is necessary to lessen or prevent a serious threat to someone's life, health or safety.

If ownership of our practice changes, whether by sale, merger, transfer of assets or otherwise, patient records may be transferred to the new owner so your care can continue. In that case, we will handle the transfer in line with our obligations under the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW), including notifying patients.

Third parties

We do not and will not sell or trade your personal or health information. We will never disclose your details to a third party except as described in this policy, where you have consented, or where it is required or permitted by law.

We may use information in a general, de-identified way, without any reference to your name, to understand patient needs, measure how our services are performing and improve our practice and website.

Access and correction

You have the right to request access to the personal and health information we hold about you, and to ask us to correct it if it is inaccurate, out of date or incomplete. To make a request, contact us using the details below. We will respond within 30 days. In some circumstances the law allows us to decline access, and if that happens we will explain why. We may charge a reasonable fee to cover the cost of providing copies of records, and we will tell you about any fee before proceeding.

Security and retention

We take reasonable steps to keep your information secure, accurate and up to date, and we review our security measures regularly in light of current technology. Health records are kept for the periods required by law. In NSW, records for adults must generally be kept for at least seven years after the last visit, and records for children until they turn 25. After that, we destroy or de-identify records securely.

Links

Our website may contain links to other websites. These links are provided for convenience only and do not mean we endorse or approve those websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of other websites, and we encourage you to read the privacy policy of any website that collects your personal information. This policy applies only to information collected by Nest Dental.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time to keep it current. Any changes take effect when they are posted on this page. Please check back periodically for the latest version.

Questions and complaints

If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your information, or if you would like to make a complaint, please contact us:

We will acknowledge your enquiry within two business days and aim to resolve any complaint within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (oaic.gov.au, 1300 363 992) or the NSW Information and Privacy Commission (ipc.nsw.gov.au, 1800 472 679).